56-558: Ilford is a large town in east London , England, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Charing Cross . Part of the London Borough of Redbridge , Ilford is within the ceremonial county of Greater London . It had a population of 168,168 in 2011, compared to 303,858 for the entire borough. Identified as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan , Ilford's commercial and retail centre is surrounded by extensive residential development. The town
112-471: A 16th-century 'beacon-mound'. Archaeological discoveries are displayed at Redbridge Museum. Ilford straddled the important road from London to Colchester . The Middlesex and Essex Turnpike Trust controlled and maintained the road from 1721. The River Roding was made navigable for barges as far as Ilford Bridge from 1737. Ilford remained largely rural until its expansion in the 19th century. This brought about brickworks, cement works and coal yards to service
168-716: A connection from the Eastern Counties line at Bethnal Green to Hackney Downs. This was connected to the Walthamstow line in 1873 and extended to Chingford. The London and Blackwall built an extension to Millwall and North Greenwich on the Isle of Dogs in 1872 and the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway was extended to Beckton in 1873, and Gallions in 1880. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Barking with Dagenham, Hornchurch and Upminster in 1885, and Romford with Upminster in 1893. The final piece of original railway works
224-515: A parish would serve one or more manors. As with other manors, the area held by the declined over time, but the parish boundaries based on its former extent remained constant. The Parish of Barking, in the Becontree hundred of Essex , covered the areas now known as Barking and Ilford. Barking was a large ancient parish of 12,307 acres (49.80 km) in the Becontree hundred of Essex. It was divided into
280-536: A significant railway junction and location of railway works. The East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway connected Kingsland with Bow and Poplar in 1850 and was renamed North London Railway in 1853. In 1854 the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Forest Gate on the Eastern Counties with Barking and Rainham. The East London Railway was opened in 1869. The Great Eastern Railway connected Lea Bridge with Walthamstow in 1870, and in 1872 built
336-659: A variety of languages, including Bengali , Gujarati , Hindi , Punjabi , Tamil , Telugu and Urdu . According to the 2001 census, the parliamentary constituencies of Ilford North and Ilford South consisted of the following demographs: At the 2011 census, the Clementswood ward's population with a BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) background was 84.2%, one of the highest in Greater London. Most of Ilford's other wards have figures above 70%. The lowest BAME ward in Ilford
392-412: A wide area including Ilford. In 1888, Ilford and the neighbouring ward of Chadwell to its east were split from Barking and together formed a separate Ilford civil parish and also a new Urban District Council. In 1890, a local board of health was set up for the parish, replacing the rural sanitary authority, and in 1894 a reform of local government reconstituted it as an urban district. It formed part of
448-545: Is a primary route destination in east London, and main roads link the town to key destinations throughout the capital and the East of England . The A118 runs east-west through Ilford, linking the town with Stratford and the A11 westbound, and Romford eastbound. The A123 runs north-south through the town, with direct connections to Gants Hill and Chigwell northbound, and Barking southbound. The A406 North Circular Road links
504-503: Is generally the lowest elevated of London's four cardinal points because of the wide Thames that runs here; the only hills here are in northern areas distant from the river in the boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. In Tower Hamlets, the population peaked in 1891 and growth was restricted to the outer boroughs. By 1971 the population was declining in every borough. By the 2011 United Kingdom census, this had reversed and every borough had undergone some growth in population. At
560-707: Is governed by a London borough council local authority. Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham and Redbridge are members of the East London Waste Authority . Some local government functions are held by the Greater London Authority , made up of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . East London is located in the lower Thames valley. The major rivers of East London are the Thames that forms
616-532: Is on the transport corridor between London and coastal Essex, with both the A12 and the central railway station linking the regions. In recent years, as a result of increased levels of immigration, Ilford has become one of the most multicultural towns in England. Historically a small rural settlement in the ancient parish of Barking in the Becontree hundred of the historic county of Essex , its strategic position on
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#1732844034191672-579: The 2001 Census the combined populations of the Ilford North and Ilford South constituencies was 196,414. John Logie Baird , who invented the television , moved to Ilford in the mid to late 1920s to work on his new invention. He worked in a workshop on the roof of the Plessey premises in Ley Street, which has long since been demolished to make way for new housing. In 1922, Ilford became notorious for being
728-756: The 2015 general election . The MP for Ilford South from 2024 is Jas Athwal of the Labour Party. Redbridge forms part of the Havering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency . The only complete skull of a mammoth discovered in the United Kingdom was unearthed in 1864 close to where Uphall Road is today. The skull can now be seen in the Natural History Museum and a cast of the skull and other prehistoric animal remains can be seen at Redbridge Museum, Central Library, Ilford. Redevelopment has destroyed much of
784-626: The Blackwall Tunnel and onto the A2 for Dartford and destinations in Kent . East London East London is the northeastern part of London , England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of railways in the 19th century encouraged the eastward expansion of
840-673: The Borough of West Ham , which was then outside London, and geographically in Essex, but under the authority of neither; in 1857 Charles Dickens termed it "London-over-the-Border". Walter Besant described East London as an area north of the Thames and east of the City of London that stretched as far as Chingford and Epping Forest, which was similar to the definition used by Robert Sinclair in 1950 that stretched east to include Barking and Dagenham. This broadly matched
896-566: The East End of London and a proliferation of new suburbs. The industrial lands of East London are today an area of regeneration, which are well advanced in places such as Canary Wharf and ongoing elsewhere. The etymology of London is uncertain, but is known to be an ancient name. The concept of East London as a distinct area is a relatively recent innovation. John Strype 's map of 1720 describes London as consisting of four parts: The City of London , Westminster , Southwark and That Part Beyond
952-697: The Elizabeth line . There are road tunnels at Rotherhithe and Blackwall , with the Woolwich Ferry further east. There are foot tunnels to Greenwich and Woolwich . In 1870, the Tower Subway cable railway tunnel was converted to pedestrian use; it was closed in 1898, following the opening of Tower Bridge. A cable car service opened in 2012. 51°33′N 0°6′E / 51.550°N 0.100°E / 51.550; 0.100 ( East London ) London Traffic Area The London Traffic Area
1008-717: The Hainault loop branch of the Central line, with direct connections to Stratford, the City , the West End and West London. London Buses link Ilford to other districts in east and central London . Routes include 25 , 86, 123, 128, 145, 147, 150, 167, 169, 179, 296, 364, 366, 396, 425, 462, SL2 and W19. Night buses N25 and N86 additionally serve the town overnight. East London Transit route EL1 begins in Ilford; it links up with routes EL2 and EL3 at Barking , with onward connections to Chadwell Heath , Becontree and Dagenham . Ilford
1064-634: The London Traffic Area from 1924 and the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933. It was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Ilford in 1926. The suburban expansion of London caused a significant increase in population and the borough became one of the largest in England not to gain county borough status. In 1965, the municipal borough was abolished and its former area was combined with that of Wanstead and Woodford ,
1120-625: The Metropolitan Police District east of the city and north of the Thames at that time, and now corresponds to the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest in Greater London . The East End of London , the old core of modern East London, began with the medieval growth of London beyond the city walls , along the Roman roads leading from Bishopsgate and Aldgate , and also along
1176-734: The Olympic Park in Stratford meant that in 2011, Ilford was the fastest-growing tourist destination in Europe due to the London 2012 Summer Olympics . In 2005, Ilford was ranked sixth in the Retail Footprint ranking for Greater London, behind London's West End , Croydon , Kingston upon Thames , Bromley and Brent Cross Shopping Centre . It ranked just above Romford and central London's Kensington . As of 2020, Ilford has 145,860 square metres (1,570,000 sq ft) of total town centre floorspace,
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#17328440341911232-541: The River Roding and the London to Colchester road made it a coaching town. The arrival of the railway in 1839 accelerated its growth, leading to the area becoming part of the conurbation with London . It split from the parish of Barking in 1888, and, in the 20th century, Ilford significantly expanded and increased in population, becoming a municipal borough in 1926. In 1965, it merged with Wanstead and Woodford , also incorporating parts of neighbouring districts, to form
1288-511: The 1950s, which also served as the headquarters of the Balfour (Marine) Engineering company. The Exchange is the main shopping centre. By 1653, Ilford was a compact village of 50 houses, mostly sited north and south of the current Broadway and the area was distinctly rural. In 1801 the population of Ilford was 1,724 and by 1841 it had grown to 3,742. It had a population of 41,244 in 1901 and occupied an area of 8,496 acres (34 km). 2,500 houses of
1344-656: The 2011 census (but altered to match new ward boundaries in 2015). The male life expectancy was 76.4 years in Loxford, and 84.5 years in Barkingside. The female expectancy was highest in Barkingside, 87.5 years, and lowest in Loxford, 81.7 years. Ilford station is in London Travelcard Zone 4 . Ilford railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line . It is served by Elizabeth line trains which also call at
1400-439: The 2021 census Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge surpassed their earlier population peaks. The total population of this area in 2021 was 1.9 million people. The population change between 1801 and 2021 was as follows: The City of London and West London are connected to South London by more than thirty bridges, but East London is only connected by Tower Bridge at its innermost edge. The reasons for this include
1456-560: The Domesday reference is to the Little Ilford area. Great and Little Ilford appear to have always been distinct areas separated by the Roding. The place names of Great and Little Ilford both appear to derive from the ford (and river), rather than deriving from the subdivision of a larger Ilford area. Barking was a huge Manor (landholding), first mentioned in a charter in 735 AD. The Manor covered
1512-559: The London Borough of Redbridge, part of Greater London. Ilford was historically known as Great Ilford to differentiate it from nearby Little Ilford . The name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ilefort and means " ford over the Hyle". "Hyle" is an old Celtic name for the River Roding that means "trickling stream". Great and Little Ilford share the place name origin, but
1568-603: The Tower . From the late 19th century the term East End of London was used to describe areas immediately adjacent to the City in the Tower division of Middlesex. Charles Booth in 1889 defined East London as the County of London between the City of London and the River Lea . In 1902, Booth considered this area to be the "true East End", and his attention had been drawn eastward over the Lea into
1624-536: The areas now known as Barking , Dagenham and Ilford. The Manor was held by the Nunnery of Barking Abbey . By the late 1100s (the Parishes of England were, with a few exceptions, fixed for around 700 years from the late 12th century onwards) the huge Manor of Barking was served by two Ancient Parishes , Barking (including Ilford) and Dagenham. This reversed the usual situation (for smaller, and even quite large Manors) where
1680-483: The evidence for early Ilford, but the oldest evidence for human occupation is the first- and second-century BC Iron Age earthwork known as Uphall Camp. This was situated between the Roding and Ilford Lane and is recorded in 18th-century plans. Roman finds have also been made in the vicinity. A nearby mound called Lavender Mount existed into the 1960s, when it was removed during building work at Howards chemical works. Excavation has shown that Lavender Mount may have been
1736-495: The largest manufacturers in its field. During World War II , the factory was heavily damaged by bombing and the company carried out much of its manufacture, with 2,000 workers servicing a production line, located in the underground railway tunnel between Wanstead and Gants Hill . In 1955 the company employed 15,000 workers, in sites throughout Ilford and neighbouring areas, with an extensive research department. BAL-AMi Jukeboxes were manufactured at 290–296 High Road, Ilford, during
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1792-451: The nearby Seven Kings and Goodmayes stations. The station was the scene of two fatal rail crashes in 1915 and 1944 . A traction maintenance depot for electric multiple units is situated in Ilford, which maintains many Greater Anglia and London Overground trains. London Underground's Central line is to the north of Ilford, with Redbridge , Gants Hill , Newbury Park , Barkingside and Fairlop nearby. The stations are on
1848-426: The nearest weather station at Greenwich , around 6 miles (9.7 km) south south west of the railway station: The entire town of Ilford is also made up of its neighbourhoods Aldborough Hatch , Barkingside , Clayhall , Cranbrook , Fairlop , Fullwell Cross , Loxford , Gants Hill , Goodmayes , Newbury Park , Redbridge , Hainault , Little Heath and Seven Kings . It approximates to 11 electoral wards , and
1904-532: The new buildings, largely centred on the River Roding. In 1839, a railway station was opened on the line from Romford to Mile End . The early businesses gave way to new industries, such as paper making and services such as steam laundries and collar making, to provide for the new commuting class created by the railway. A number of major businesses have been founded in the town, including the eponymous photographic film and chemicals manufacturer Ilford Photo . This
1960-525: The northern extremity of Dagenham and a small part Chigwell Urban District (around Hainault), to form the new London Borough of Redbridge . Two the UK Parliamentary constituencies are named after Ilford: Ilford North and Ilford South .The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North is Wes Streeting of the Labour Party, who succeeded the previous MP Lee Scott of the Conservative Party in
2016-492: The river. Growth was much slower in the east, and the modest extensions there were separated from the much larger suburbs in the west by the marshy open area of Moorfields adjacent to the wall on the north side, which discouraged development in that direction. Urbanisation accelerated in the 16th century and the area that would later become known as the East End began to take shape. Until about 1700, London did not extend far beyond
2072-572: The site of the Thompson-Bywaters case , a cause celebre in the United Kingdom that later influenced the debate around capital punishment in the UK . Ilford was also the birthplace of the actor Maggie Smith who left for Oxford at the age of four. During World War II an Ilford man lost his life when his Royal Air Force training aircraft crashed in the United States. Local residents living near
2128-631: The site, in the State of Oklahoma , erected a monument in 2000 honouring the lives of all four RAF fliers who perished. The event was attended by the Mayor of Redbridge and his mace-bearer, to much local acclaim. The residents, who include Choctaw Indians and the Choctaw Nation government, continue honouring the lives of all four on each anniversary of the crashes, which took place in February 1943. Its proximity to
2184-542: The southern boundary; the Lea which forms the boundary of Tower Hamlets/Hackney with Newham/Waltham Forest; the Roding which approximately forms the boundary of Newham with Barking and Dagenham/Redbridge; and the Beam which forms the boundary of Barking and Dagenham with Havering. The marshes along the Thames which once stretched from Wapping to Rainham are almost completely gone. East London
2240-519: The tenth highest in Greater London and noticeably lower compared to Stratford and Romford. The town is bounded in the west by the North Circular Road , Manor Park and the River Roding , with Chadwell Heath and Romford to the east and Barking to the South. The Alders Brook is a tributary of the Roding that marks the boundary between Newham and Redbridge. Climate data for Ilford is taken from
2296-419: The total population counted 168,168 people in the 2011 census, compared to 303,858 for the borough of Redbridge as a whole. Ilford has a very large ethnic-minority population, one of the most diverse towns in the country. Ilford North had the fourth-highest Jewish proportion of residents in the 2001 census. The Hindu, Muslim and Sikh population number some 30,000. The large South Asian community in Ilford speak
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2352-584: The town directly with north and west London destinations, such as Wood Green and Brent Cross . It carries traffic northbound to the M11 for Stansted Airport and Cambridge . Southbound, the route runs to Beckton , the Woolwich Ferry , and the A13 for Isle of Dogs , Dagenham and Tilbury . North of Ilford, the A12 links the town directly to the M25 , Chelmsford and Ipswich . Southbound traffic runs past Stratford, through
2408-480: The urban footprint was constrained in 1878 by the protection of Epping Forest and later the implementation of the Metropolitan Green Belt . The density of development increased during the interwar period , and new industries developed, such as Ford at Dagenham . The industries declined in the later part of the 20th century (and earlier), but East London is now an area of regeneration. London Docklands
2464-656: The vast Becontree Estate , built by the London County Council from 1921, were within the boundaries of Ilford; the addition caused a rise in population of 11,600 by 1926. The Central line service of the London Underground to new and former main-line stations in the area began in 1947 and the population of the Municipal Borough of Ilford peaked in 1951 at 184,706, declining to 178,024 in 1961 before being absorbed into Redbridge and Greater London in 1965. At
2520-430: The walled boundaries of the City of London. However, the population in the parishes to the east of the City of London was rising and this led to a need to break up the large ancient parish of Stepney into smaller units to provide adequate religious and civil administration. It was the industries associated with the River Thames , such as shipbuilding and the docks, that encouraged growth in the east, and by 1650, Shadwell
2576-529: The wards of Chadwell, Great Ilford, Ripple and Town. The Barking parish authorities gradually lost responsibility for a variety of functions during the 19th century; from 1836, for the administration of poor relief, Ilford came within the Romford Poor Law Union and in 1840 the Metropolitan Police District was extended to cover the area. In 1875, the Romford rural sanitary district was created, covering
2632-476: The whole of the County of London and Middlesex , much of Surrey and Hertfordshire , plus parts of Kent , Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Essex . At its outer limits it included Harlow , Billericay , Gravesend , Sevenoaks , Reigate , Guildford , Slough , Amersham , Harpenden and Stevenage . The traffic area was defined by Schedule 1 of the Act as: The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
2688-638: The widening of the River Thames as it gets further east, and also the need, until relatively recently, to avoid impediments to the river traffic of the strategic London Docklands . Until the end of the 20th century the East was connected to the South by just one railway line, the East London Line . The Jubilee Line Extension opened in 1999, was supplemented by extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and
2744-434: Was Fairlop, 34.9%. House prices in Ilford are generally far lower than the average for Greater London. The median house price in 2014 in Ilford's Loxford ward was £193,000, which was the sixth lowest out of the 628 wards of Greater London. In most wards, a majority of houses are owned by the households. The exceptions are in Clementswood, Loxford, and Valentines. The table below shows housing type data for Ilford's wards at
2800-406: Was a developed maritime settlement. The docks in Tower Hamlets started to reach capacity in the early 19th century, and in 1855 the Royal Victoria Dock was opened in Newham. By 1882, Walter Besant and others, were able to describe East London as a city in its own right, on account of its large size and social disengagement from the rest of London. The majority of the rail network in East London
2856-548: Was built within fifty years from 1839. The first through the area was the Eastern Counties Railway from Mile End to Romford, extended to Shoreditch in 1840. The London and Blackwall Railway built a line from Minories to Blackwall the same year and the Northern and Eastern Railway connected Lea Bridge and Tottenham with the Eastern Counties at Stratford. The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway started passenger service on their line from Stratford to Canning Town, Custom House and North Woolwich in 1847. This made Stratford
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#17328440341912912-541: Was defined in the 1980s as the area of redevelopment under the control of the London Docklands Development Corporation . The Thames Gateway extends into East London with two areas of activity: the Lower Lea Valley around the Olympic site and London Riverside adjacent to the Thames. There are seven London boroughs that cover areas of Greater London to the north of the Thames and east of the City of London. They are Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. Each London borough
2968-415: Was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council . The traffic area extended for about 25 miles (40 kilometres) from Charing Cross in central London, and was thus much larger than the existing County of London or Metropolitan Police District . It included
3024-563: Was founded in 1879 by Alfred H. Harman, a photographer from Peckham , who established the business in a house in Cranbrook Road making gelatino-bromide 'dry' plates. The business soon outgrew these premises, and its headquarters moved to a site at Roden Street until 1976 when the factory was closed. Many Ilford Limited products are displayed at Redbridge Museum. The radio, electronics and telecommunications company Plessey , founded in 1917 in Marylebone , moved to Cottenham Road in Ilford early in 1919 and then to Vicarage Lane where it became one of
3080-450: Was set up to make recommendations on regulating and controlling motor traffic in the LTA, and presented annual reports to Parliament. The committee's included members appointed by the Ministry of Transport and by the local authorities in the traffic area. The LTA and the advisory committee were abolished by the London Government Act 1963 . From 1965 the Greater London Council exercised the powers over traffic regulation, although its area
3136-426: Was the construction of the Great Eastern loop line to connect Woodford with Ilford via Fairlop in 1903. Areas further east developed in the Victorian and Edwardian eras after the expansion of the railways in the 19th century. Development of suburban houses for private sale was later matched by the provision of large-scale social housing at Becontree in the 1920s and Harold Hill after the Second World War . However,
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